Chapter 93: The Reorganization of Tianjin, Part One (Please Favorite, Please Recommend)

The night was as dark as ink. Inside Tianjin Garrison City, in the courtyard of the former Tianjin Regional Commander's yamen, now used as the Marshal's Office of the Grand Marshal of All Under Heaven, tree shadows swayed beneath the moonlight.

From the bank of the Wei River to the west, the sounds of horns and gongs and war drums came drifting over, one after another, from far away, adding a hint of grim lethality to the tranquil night.

After the bloody battle on West Gate Street, the Chongzhen Emperor had once again retreated, and on the pretext of being frightened and ill and needing rest, he had dumped the entire wandering court onto the Crown Prince, who was acting as military governor. A wandering court was still a court, with countless affairs to manage, and on top of that, over ten thousand roving bandits had appeared outside Tianjin city — a great battle was imminent. So Zhu Cilang, exhausted after a full day, had to go another night without sleep.

Although Zhu Cilang now held great power in his hands, the attendants around him were far fewer than when he had been Crown Prince in the Duanben Palace. For one thing, not many attendants had come along when they fled; for another, the senior eunuch Huang Dabao, who attended Zhu Cilang, had now risen high — he alone was in charge of all three directorates: Ceremonial, Seals, and Credentials! One man naturally could not handle it all, so most of the Eastern Palace inner servants who had fled Beijing with Zhu Cilang had risen with him, becoming key figures in the three directorates of Ceremonial, Seals, and Credentials. As a result, Zhu Cilang had almost no attendants left around him. He could only let Wu Sanmei, Lady Ning, and Lady Fei temporarily fill in as serving maids. These three girls should have been led by Lady Ning — although there had been no formal ceremony, she still held the status of principal wife. But when it came to closeness with Zhu Cilang and actual ability to manage affairs, how could Lady Ning compare with Wu Sanmei?

Sanmei had been raised as the principal wife of a military family. Besides knowing martial arts and being skilled at riding, she had also learned a good deal about managing household affairs. The Liaodong military families staked their fortunes with their heads tied to their belts — the head of the family could be gone at any moment. As the mistress of the house, how could she not know how to manage it? So Wu Sanmei could not only handle all kinds of household matters herself, but she could also keep accounts and manage finances. She had taken over Huang Dabao's pile of duties without the slightest effort. And she had naturally become the eldest sister among the three girls, assigning duties to both Lady Ning and Lady Fei.

Besides her managerial ability, this Wu Sanmei was also quite good at winning people over. It probably came from her genes, plus the skills she had picked up from seeing and hearing things in a warlord family. She had not spent much time with the two young girls before they had already sworn sisterhood.

And Wu Sanmei was actually the youngest of the three — the same age as Zhu Cilang, both born in the second year of Chongzhen. Zhu Cilang was born in the second month, while Wu Sanmei was born on the eighteenth day of the third month. Lady Ning and Lady Fei were both born in the first year of Chongzhen. Lady Ning's birthday was in the second month, making her the oldest of the three, so she became Elder Sister Ning. Lady Fei was born in the fifth month, so she was Second Sister Fei. Wu Sanmei was the youngest, so she could only remain Sanmei.

Lady Ning and Lady Fei both had their own names, of course. Lady Ning was named Xiangyu — true to her name, she was round and lustrous like jade, with curved eyebrows, large eyes, a straight nose, a small cherry-like mouth, and skin like jade. She was a rare beauty, yet still dignified and steady.

Lady Fei was named Zhen'e. Among the three women she had the lowest status, being merely a palace maid. But her looks were the most outstanding of the three. Sanmei was tall and large, inevitably a bit coarse, though concealed by her fair white skin. Lady Ning was plump — actually a bit chubby — which was why in the eyes of Empress Zhou and Empress Zhang she had a figure suited to bearing children, along with a dignified bearing, and so she had been made the principal consort.

But Fei Zhen'e was alluring and gorgeous — neither tall nor short, neither plump nor thin. Where there should be flesh, it was full and rounded; where there should be slimness, there was not the slightest excess. Her features were as beautiful as a painting, and though her skin was not as fair as Wu Sanmei's, it was as fine and smooth as milk. The flaw — or perhaps the finishing touch — was a certain fox-like seductiveness.

It was precisely because of that fox-like charm that she had lost the chance to become the Crown Prince's principal consort. But she was unwilling to take a few gold coins and return to her hometown, so when taking her leave she had begged Empress Zhang, saying her home region had been occupied by roving bandits and she had no place to return to, and asked only to remain in the palace to serve. Empress Zhang, seeing her pitiful state and that she was as beautiful as the Empress herself had been in her youth, was moved to compassion and kept her by her side. But keeping her was all it was — Empress Zhang would never give such a fox-like seductress a chance to get close to the Crown Prince. She could not let that little vixen Fei lead a model Crown Prince astray.

But who could have imagined that the Crown Prince's "model" behavior was all an act, and that his true face was cunning and ruthless, almost like the Taizu and Chengzu Emperors... So Empress Zhang no longer worried, and simply gave Lady Fei to Zhu Cilang as a gift to enjoy. For Fei Zhen'e, being able to serve at Zhu Cilang's side was an unexpected delight, so she treasured it all the more. She had begged Wu Sanmei for the chance to attend Zhu Cilang personally, and at this very moment she was waiting outside Zhu Cilang's study, occasionally peeking in to check on the situation inside. Within, the lamplight was like a bean, and Zhu Cilang was discussing matters of war and defense with Wu Xiang, Cao Youyi, and Li Ruolian.

By now quite a few high-ranking military officers had gathered around Zhu Cilang. But most were hereditary nobles there for show, not truly capable of commanding on the battlefield. Only the three men — Wu Xiang and his son, and Cao Youyi — were real warriors. Wu Sanfu still had to lead troops up onto the walls tomorrow morning to intimidate the enemy, so he had gone to bed. That left Wu Xiang and Cao Youyi, the two senior generals who truly understood war, to discuss the battle situation with Zhu Cilang.

In addition, Zhu Chunjie was also at Zhu Cilang's side. He had just been promoted by Zhu Cilang to Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he was also a key figure in the defense of Tianjin Garrison — the battle for Tianjin could not focus only on outside the walls while ignoring the inside! So rebuilding the Embroidered Uniform Guard to pacify and control all parts of the city, to prevent civil unrest, was also an urgent priority.

"... In the past, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was responsible for imperial escort and bodyguard duty, as well as patrolling, investigation, and arrest. Its duties were too many, its establishment vast, and its subordinate officials numerous — long ago it exceeded the proper size of a single guard. With so many people and such mixed duties, it was difficult to specialize. As a result, many tasks that should have been handled were hard to do well. Moreover, the court used Embroidered Uniform Guard posts to reward people, so that many Guard officials were unworthy of their titles and had no ability to do the work. And capable men could not rise, so they had no heart to do their jobs properly. But times are different now. The court is in exile, the Son of Heaven is in distress, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as the Son of Heaven's own army, should strive for reform, to make it lean, fierce, and worthy of great responsibility...

This subject's idea is to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard take sole charge of patrolling, investigation, and arrest, while at the same time streamlining the establishment and cutting redundant personnel. Under the Chief Commissioner's Office, we need only establish two Provost Offices, North and South. The North Provost Office would bear responsibility for investigation and arrest, while the South Provost Office would handle covert reconnaissance and intelligence. The former would be used internally, the latter would labor externally..."

Zhu Chunjie had somehow already written out a memorial on reforming the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and now he read it through carefully to Zhu Cilang by lamplight. Zhu Cilang merely watched with a faint, ambiguous smile. Reforming the Embroidered Uniform Guard was indeed an urgent matter — this was now an age of great contention, and an efficient intelligence agency was absolutely essential.

And in real history, the Embroidered Uniform Guard could hardly be considered a professional intelligence agency. Investigation and arrest were merely a side job; imperial escort and bodyguard duty was the main work. Within the vast Embroidered Uniform Guard establishment, only one North Provost Office handled investigation and arrest (the South Provost Office was responsible for the Guard's own discipline), and the officers with actual investigative and arrest authority, known as "cavalry riders," generally numbered no more than 600. The Embroidered Uniform Guard had 17 guard stations under it, each with 1,120 men, for a full establishment of 19,040. That is to say, out of nearly twenty thousand men in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the true intelligence personnel numbered only 600.

These 600 agents also had to divide their time between investigation, arrest, and interrogation, and many of them were just idling away their days, and they were frequently drawn into the court's internal struggles. One can imagine how efficient they were.

So a thorough reform was necessary, to turn it into a truly efficient secret service organ.

But the plan to reform the Embroidered Uniform Guard was still in Zhu Cilang's mind, and had not been assigned to Zhu Chunjie as a task. Yet the man had been perceptive enough to read his superior's intentions, and had already produced concrete measures.

It seemed this man was also a capable minister — at least far more capable than his cowardly cousin Zhu Chunchen!

Zhu Cilang smiled approvingly and said, "Huaiyuan is indeed a capable and efficient minister, and very much to Our liking. However, in Our view, the North Provost Office's responsibility for investigation and arrest should be limited to treason, collusion with rebels, and collusion with the barbarians. Ordinary lawlessness, fugitives, theft, and rape should be handled by the proper authorities, and official corruption and abuse of the law should be the responsibility of the three judicial offices — there is no need for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to interfere.

But all that is for later. The urgent matter now is to put up a proper front. Starting tomorrow, can the Embroidered Uniform Guard take on the duty of pacifying and controlling Tianjin Garrison City? We do not want anyone stirring up trouble inside the city while the roving bandits attack the walls!"

(End of Chapter)